Fundraising Fox

Elisa Torres Durney

Investor

Intern Accelerator & Venture Builder at QAI Ventures

Europe

About

Elisa Torres Durney founded Girls in Quantum at age 16 in Chile, growing the organization into a community of over 30,000 members across 60+ countries that has reached more than 8,500 students through specialized quantum education and mentorship programs. She has spoken at more than 50 international venues including the United Nations, UNESCO, and TEDx, and her work has been recognized by the UNESCO Quantum 100, named a Global Student Prize Top 10 finalist, and featured in outlets including CNN, Forbes, and Nature. Torres Durney is an engineering student at Duke University and serves as a STEM advisor at UNESCO.

LinkedIn ↗

Experience

  1. Girls in QuantumFoundercurrent2022 — present
  2. QAI VenturesVenture Builder & Accelerator Interncurrent2026 — presentBasel, Switzerland
  3. UNESCOSTEM Advisorcurrent2025 — present
  4. startuplab.01Advisorcurrent2026 — present
  5. Self EmployedPublic Speaker - Global Tech, Quantum Computing & STEM Educationcurrent2021 — present
  6. Duke MEMSStudent Advisorcurrent2025 — present
  7. Duke University Pratt School of EngineeringElectrical Engineering Research Assistant at I^3T Lab2026
  8. AppleNext-Gen Innovators Mentorship2025 — 2026United States
  9. Goldman Sachs2025 Engineering Possibilities Summit Trainee2025
  10. Duke UniversityAdvisor for the Office of University Scholars and Fellows2024 — 2025United States
  11. G100: Mission MillionCountry Chair STEM Education - Women Economic Forum2023 — 2025Chile
  12. Swiss Cyber Security DaysAdvisory Board Member2024 — 2025Berne, Switzerland
  13. KIDsforSDGsSDG Changemaker2022 — 2025
  14. Kode With KlossyData Science Scholar2024
  15. QiskitQiskit Spanish Fall Fest Organizer2023
  16. Stanford UniversityResearch Intern2023
  17. The New York Academy of SciencesYoung Researcher2022 — 2023
  18. The New York Academy of SciencesMentee 1000 girls 1000 futures2022 — 2023
  19. TED ConferencesSpeaker2023La Paz, Bolivia
  20. Consejo CTCIAdvisory Committee Member2023Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile

Education

  1. Duke UniversityBachelor of Science in Engineering - BSE, Electrical & Computing Engineering2024 — 2028
  2. University of OxfordArtificial Intelligence, Ethics & Philosophy2025
  3. Frontier Technology InstituteQuantum Computing
  4. Yale Young Global ScholarsInnovations in science & technology
  5. Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileBachelor of Engineering - BE2024

Skills & more

Attention to Detail5Oral Communication6Interpersonal Communication3Analytical Skills4Communication4Team Leadership14Critical Thinking10Problem Solving9Teamwork7Leadership6Organizational skills6Creativity Skills7
+12 moreProgram ManagementComputingEngineeringArduino3D PrintingPresentationsCoachingSocial MediaProject ManagementEntrepreneurshipLeadership DevelopmentOrganizaciones sin ánimo de lucro

Languages English · French · German · Spanish

  • Communicating Science for Policy — National Science Policy Network
  • Innovation Strategy — Goldman Sachs
  • Speaker Girl Up x United Nations — Girl Up
  • Fundamentals of Customers and Competition — Goldman Sachs
  • Fundamentals of Negotiation — Goldman Sachs
  • Fundamentals of Sales and Marketing — Goldman Sachs
  • Fundamentals of Leadership — Goldman Sachs
  • Fundamentals of Funding — Goldman Sachs
  • Fundamentals of Business Finance — Goldman Sachs
  • Grow your Business — Goldman Sachs

From Elisa's professional profile.

Same school

Also attended Duke University384

Fred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeJeremy LevinePartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersJulie YangVice President at InvestcorpScott RaneyManaging Director at Redpoint VenturesJack Bixby LucasGeneral Partner at Lucas Venture GroupVinnie McSweeneyInvestor at OpenView Venture Partners

+ 378 more

Also attended Yale Young Global Scholars5

Justin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports VenturesFaruk OztokOperations | Venture Fellow at 212Cosima PaulInvestor at PICUS CAPITALClarissa BarquistInvestor at Goodwater CapitalElvia PerezAssociate at Las Olas Venture Capital

Also attended Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile96

Antonia Rojas EingFounder & Managing Partner at ATTOM CAPITALSebastian KreisVenture Partner & IC Member at ATTOM CAPITALGabriel GurovichIC Member at ATTOM CAPITALJordi VidalPartner at Kibo VenturesMichael HennesseyVenture Partner at DrivenRicardo LevyPartner at Fen Ventures

+ 90 more

Shared employers

Also worked at startuplab.012

Francisca ContrerasExecutive Director startuplab.01 at Fundación ChileConsuelo Monje PintoAssociate at Taram Capital

Also worked at Apple229

Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockJim BreyerFounder & CEO of Breyer CapitalSteve JurvetsonCo-founder of Future VenturesDamir BecirovicInvestor at Index VenturesNicolas MetzkeInvestor at DaphniTed KummertVenture partner at Madrona focused on enterprise infrastructure, data, and intelligent applications

+ 223 more

Also worked at Goldman Sachs1,186

Josh KushnerFounder & CEO of Thrive CapitalFred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmNiki PezeshkiGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesChris BischoffInvestment Team at General CatalystDamir BecirovicInvestor at Index Ventures

+ 1,180 more

Also worked at Consejo CTCI1

Javier MancillaConsultant in Technology and Innovation at SquareOne Capital

Colleagues at QAI Ventures

Alexandra Beckstein
CEO and Founder at QAI Ventures
Anca Albu
Chief Operations Officer at QAI Ventures
Angelina Frank
Head of Science & Technology APAC at QAI Ventures
Anton Wendeborn
Events & Office Manager at QAI Ventures
Arianna Maschietto
Managing Director Calgary & Global Head of Value Creation Startups at QAI Ventures
Axel Thierauf
General Partner at QAI Ventures
Ayla Shahid
Startup Program Manager at QAI Ventures
Dr. Axel Thierauf
General Partner at QAI Ventures